I find it very hard to believe that "millions" of the original iPhone were sold specifically to jailbreak. I even find it hard to believe that "millions" of all iPhones ever sold have been jailbroken. Most people don't choose to do things that void their warranty.

well - a jailbreak is 100% reversible - a little research - and it's a no brainer.

That is what they want you to believe but it's horse pucky. Very few jailbreakers install pirated software.
1) It's difficult to hack the app signing.
2) It's not worth it; most apps are just $1.
3) We actually buy MORE software like tethering apps and other hacks thru Cydia.

So please stop with this "Jailbreaking will kill the iOS app market" junk. Please?

Then please explain to us why you do it?

The only things I see people do with their jailbroken phones is download pirated software.

There is no legitimate reason for jailbreaking a phone in New Zealand because the phone is unlocked. That leaves only two reasons 1): running crappy little hacks to the OS to do things that ultimately don't really add any real useful abilities to the phone and in some cases make the phones less useful 2): downloading and installing illegal applications.

With point 1 you have to weigh up why does this application not get approval from the App Store? Does it use APIs that Apple doesn't allow? Is it worth it to install this app that can easily break with a single change by Apple? Is it worth it to install an app that has no guarantee will work with an update.

I think jailbreaking does hurt the device more than it frees it. I really don't see the point of jailbreaking because it stops me from getting the latest software due to having to wait until someone finds an exploit. I'd much rather upgrade and carry on using the device rather than having to run an old version of the OS and be limited to features.

I jailbreak when and if possible because I like and want Lockscreen Info. An app that Apple does not seem to want on the iPhone.

According to lowededwookie that is a "crappy little hack that doesnt "add any real useful abilities. \

I hope Apple updates their notification system for iOS 5.0 and adds APIs so devs can make a nice app widgets that are similar in form to LockInfo. Its languished long enough and they did hire the guy responsible for WebOS system notifications.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

According to lowededwookie that is a "crappy little hack that doesnt "add any real useful abilities. \

I hope Apple updates their notification system for iOS 5.0 and adds APIs so devs can make a nice app widgets that are similar in form to LockInfo. Its languished long enough and they did hire the guy responsible for WebOS system notifications.

Right. Weather on the lock screen or other info is not important. Glad I had someone to point that out for me. Considering I have enough money to pay for any app I want, there goes the stolen app theory.

I think jailbreaking does hurt the device more than it frees it. I really don't see the point of jailbreaking because it stops me from getting the latest software due to having to wait until someone finds an exploit. I'd much rather upgrade and carry on using the device rather than having to run an old version of the OS and be limited to features.

Hm, there are really different reasons for jailbreaking and just pretending Apple has taken care of everything does not make it so. While most people may jailbreak to unlock, or to install junk like lockscreen "enhancements" or springboard "enhancements" both of which normally look like crap and slow down the device, or even make it unstable there are certainly a few valid uses.

One of them is WiFi tethering: Apple does not offer WiFi tethering, because AT&T does not like it. In other countries there are network operators which do allow tethering, they even happily sell you additional data packages to do it. Should the entire world have a less useful device, just because of AT&T?

Another example is one we have in our company. Yes, we do have over 80 official iPhones from Apple's official carrier and still jailbreak two of them. Why? Because we have rather complex in-house software (and some equally complex third party apps) on the iPhones, and need to train people in using it. The iPhone does neither have video mirroring, nor a built in VNC server, so all you can do is give training using an additional person operating a video camera... On a jailbroken phone this works just fine without such hassle.

Right. Weather on the lock screen or other info is not important. Glad I had someone to point that out for me. Considering I have enough money to pay for any app I want, there goes the stolen app theory.

Im not much of a fan or user of SMS, but BiteSMS is pretty slick. It offers many features Apples native app doesnt. For instance, you can reply from the popover without having to leave your current app or unlock and access the SMS app directly to reply.

BiteSMS is now 25% off.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

The only things I see people do with their jailbroken phones is download pirated software.

There is no legitimate reason for jailbreaking a phone in New Zealand because the phone is unlocked. That leaves only two reasons 1): running crappy little hacks to the OS to do things that ultimately don't really add any real useful abilities to the phone and in some cases make the phones less useful 2): downloading and installing illegal applications.

With point 1 you have to weigh up why does this application not get approval from the App Store? Does it use APIs that Apple doesn't allow? Is it worth it to install this app that can easily break with a single change by Apple? Is it worth it to install an app that has no guarantee will work with an update.

I think jailbreaking does hurt the device more than it frees it. I really don't see the point of jailbreaking because it stops me from getting the latest software due to having to wait until someone finds an exploit. I'd much rather upgrade and carry on using the device rather than having to run an old version of the OS and be limited to features.

Come now-those little hacks are FIERCE!! I could give you a 20+list of those that are amazing-these features take the iOS way beyond what Apple is currently offering and it's quite an eye opener that many features eventually get added to the iOS by Apple-

I jailbreak and DO NOT PIRATE-in fact I buy from the AppStore (60+games). However, though I DO jailbreak-I DO NOT recommend it to most people because most people are morons and will end up doing something that will end up forcing them to restore. You have to have some above common computer knowledge or you could end up with that restore headache. These forums go to show just how little people know in regards to how they form their opinions. Jailbreaking is not for the masses-I agree with Steve Jobs/Apple's effort to make it difficult but thankfully there will always be a way.

Since the creation of the iPhone-Apple users IQs (computerwise) have dropped enough to have their very own Special Computer Olympics. Thanks Steve.

Right. Weather on the lock screen or other info is not important. Glad I had someone to point that out for me. Considering I have enough money to pay for any app I want, there goes the stolen app theory.

Whether you have the weather on your lock screen or not, you are still not the spokesperson for all jailbreakers.

I'll bet you only use bit torrent to test Linux distributions too.

Get off the grass, stop the denial.

Better than my Bose, better than my Skullcandy's, listening to Mozart through my LeBron James limited edition PowerBeats by Dre is almost as good as my Sennheisers.

That is what they want you to believe but it's horse pucky. Very few jailbreakers install pirated software.
1) It's difficult to hack the app signing.
2) It's not worth it; most apps are just $1.
3) We actually buy MORE software like tethering apps and other hacks thru Cydia.

So please stop with this "Jailbreaking will kill the iOS app market" junk. Please?

Funny, I used to defend jailbreaking like you, but more and more, pretty much every single person I met that has a jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch always brags about how they get all their apps for free. There are quite pricey apps in the app store, especially ones related to medical stuff. These are the ones that are mostly pirated (Lexi comp is one of them). And since jailbreaking allows one to pirate one expensive app, why not just pirate everything else, regardless of the price. Free is still better than $1. People are cheapskate.

According to lowededwookie that is a "crappy little hack that doesnt "add any real useful abilities. \

I hope Apple updates their notification system for iOS 5.0 and adds APIs so devs can make a nice app widgets that are similar in form to LockInfo. Its languished long enough and they did hire the guy responsible for WebOS system notifications.

That's not what I was getting at but thanks for putting words in my mouth.

I'm not saying all apps that aren't on the App Store are crappy little apps that don't add any real functionality but LockInfo doesn't really seem to add that many features to make it something worth risking my phone or iPad over.

Jailbreaking can have its uses I don't deny that but is risking the functionality of your iOS device worth having extra info on a screen that most people only briefly look at for date and time? Is it worth the security issues that are created just to run that sort of app? Is it worth the risk of bricking your iOS device because Apple released an update that causes something in your jailbroken device to break?

The majority of people out there want a device that allows them to use it. They don't care about some app that adds weather to their lock screen. Seems hardly worth the battery drain which many of these apps provide because they're not playing with the system properly.

If you want to do it I'm not saying don't but don't tell me that Apple is denying functionality when ultimately the people Apple is aiming the device at don't give a flying monkey's toss about whether or not they can see weather on a screen that they visit only to unlock and get into what they actually want to do.

To me and many many others the risks of jailbreaking for apps that are mostly denied access to the store because they don't play by the rules isn't worth the risk. That's what I'm saying not the words you've decided to put in my mouth.

You're saying that if Apple allows some sort of system hack, like assigning different sounds to text messages from different people, or changing your background wallpaper, you know, "crappy little hacks to the OS to do things that ultimately don't really add any real useful abilities to the phone," it's okay. But if Apple doesn't make it part of their default system software, it's not worth having.

Jailbreakers are saying there are things they'd like their phones to do, because they are small programmable computers and are capable of doing them. Yes, it's annoying that jailbreaking might mess with the stability of your phone. But it doesn't mess with it too much, and Apple should make it so it doesn't mess with it at all.

I hate having to click deep into different parts of the system app to change brightness, adjust wi-fi settings, turn on and off bluetooth, and toggle 3G. But there's an app that only available for jailbroken phones that puts those features one swipe away. It makes my life much easier. But according to you this is not a "legitimate reason" to jailbreak. It's a "crappy little hack to the OS" that does "things that ultimately don't really add any useful abilities to the phone and in some cases make the phone less useful."

I don't understand why people like you don't realize that some people think differently than you. You could easily have said "I personally don't want to jailbreak for (reasons x and y)" but instead you insisted that people who said they don't jailbreak to pirate software are lying.

Instead you said:

Then please explain to us why you do it?

The only things I see people do with their jailbroken phones is download pirated software.

There is no legitimate reason for jailbreaking a phone in New Zealand because the phone is unlocked. That leaves only two reasons 1): running crappy little hacks to the OS to do things that ultimately don't really add any real useful abilities to the phone and in some cases make the phones less useful 2): downloading and installing illegal applications.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowededwookie

That's not what I was getting at but thanks for putting words in my mouth.

I'm not saying all apps that aren't on the App Store are crappy little apps that don't add any real functionality but LockInfo doesn't really seem to add that many features to make it something worth risking my phone or iPad over.

Jailbreaking can have its uses I don't deny that but is risking the functionality of your iOS device worth having extra info on a screen that most people only briefly look at for date and time? Is it worth the security issues that are created just to run that sort of app? Is it worth the risk of bricking your iOS device because Apple released an update that causes something in your jailbroken device to break?

The majority of people out there want a device that allows them to use it. They don't care about some app that adds weather to their lock screen. Seems hardly worth the battery drain which many of these apps provide because they're not playing with the system properly.

If you want to do it I'm not saying don't but don't tell me that Apple is denying functionality when ultimately the people Apple is aiming the device at don't give a flying monkey's toss about whether or not they can see weather on a screen that they visit only to unlock and get into what they actually want to do.

To me and many many others the risks of jailbreaking for apps that are mostly denied access to the store because they don't play by the rules isn't worth the risk. That's what I'm saying not the words you've decided to put in my mouth.

sorry... but i jailbreak my iphone to get apps above 5 dollars for free... especially those that costs 29.99 and above. i download them simply just because they are expensive even if i dont use them.
however, if i really really like an app, i would go back to the app store to purchase the actual version:
this includes: pvz, infinity blade, etc...
and for the apps that are below 4 dollars, i actually purchase them in the app store to get the "genuine version"
recently, when i try to get my friends to jailbreak their iphone, they ask me why?
i really can no longer use: "to get apps for free!" simply because, the apps that most people use are under 10dollars, and to them paying the price once is simpler than jailbreaking and getting it for free. and even myself, having around 2 pages of apps on my iphone that are not created by apple, really can't convince people to jailbreak their iphones anymore (its actually easier to convince them to buy a mac).
however, jailbreaking to me is extremely useful, not for the "free apps" (i have 3apps out of 35 that are not paid for: quickoffice, logmein & 2do) but for apps like mywi, my3g, wifi sync, sbs settings, poof, activator... as a user who constantly travels out of the country, i desperately need to unlock my iphone as well. you have no idea how useful my3g is when you can facetime family and friends without needing to be in a wifi area. sbs settings allows access to deep deep setting in just 2 taps. activator gives me FAST access to my camera, easy access to skipping songs. and wifi sync for when i dont have a usb or simply don't want to charge my phone when connected to my laptop.

none of those apps slow my iphone, not even a bit; and some may be not useful for you (the reason why you are calling them crappy little apps), but does the world center around you? should everyone in the world only use apps you think are useful?
my apps dont make my iphone any less stable. i dont jb to change my icons, or add some unnecessary tricks to my springboard because THOSE make iphone slow and crash easily.

my point is: don't tell me that jb makes my iphone unstable, its not the jb that does it, its the over-customization that kids love that do.

lowededwookie:
please explain to me what risks do i face by jailbreaking? its as easy as one click to restore my iphone to get full technical service from apple and erase my footsteps of a jailbroken iphone. you have to be really stupid to actually "brick" your iphone.
i love my iphone because it is jailbroken, and because i can hide ugly icons or create spaces to position my icons and thats a simple enough reason why i would jb (you might not think so, but the world isn't just you), and by doing just that puts me in ZERO risk.

Since the creation of the iPhone-Apple users IQs (computerwise) have dropped enough to have their very own Special Computer Olympics. Thanks Steve.

This is so true. In 3 years the training classes I do have gone from smart, talented people who learn and discover things on their Macs mostly by themselves to mouth-breathers that just sit there with their latest shiny gadget and expect to be spoonfed exactly how to do everything.

It's quite disturbing, actually. I'm not sure how much nicer or professional I can be in the face of total cluelessness. The irony - all these new users do have the knowledge on how to earn an above-average income but then when it comes to tech, either they are not bothered to learn or experiment or who knows what.

Incredible. Do you recommend stealing everything people really want but don't have the money to purchase, or is it confined only to cell phone apps?

ehh, thats my advice concerning cellphone apps. i dont play pc games anymore, so no bittorrent for me.
i understand your analogy, whether its a cellphone app or anything else in life, its stealing. but from the way i view it, if its something virtual that i dont have it in my hand (an actual object), theres always a chance that I can lose it virtually. there really is no "value" to virtual items, just like you wouldn't buy items/weapons in a virtual game like WoW. who knows, you probably do, but i would never (or even spend money playing subscription games). and thats also why an old software doesn't raise its value when you simply copy&paste it while an old object gains value over time.
despite all this, i still pay for games underneath 6-8bucks, because i think its worth it, but when it comes to 30 and above, its too "virtual" for me to invest in.

however, i only download jailbroken free apps for "trying", like i said, most of the apps on my phone are legitimately bought. the ones that i dont really use are the ones i downloaded just because they are crazily expensive.

Jailbreaking is the icing on the iOS cake. I only use, so far, the top-notch stable utilities like Activator, DisplayOut, SBSettings and am considering LockInfo. This is for my iPhone and iPad. DisplayOut is absolutely critical for full video mirroring when doing demos of iPhone/ iPad in my Apple Reseller work I do. The alternative of using a webcam is just... unthinkably hideous. I don't pirate apps, what's the point and I have only two screens of apps and a few folders of apps.

I do know people that jailbreak just to pirate apps. This is Asia, after all, intellectual property is something they cannot touch and as such seems hard for people to understand... for whatever reason.

Re: point 1
It's very easy. Just install a patch from Cydia and you can bypass all DRM limitations I.e. To install all unsigned or cracked IPAs. App piracy is a major problem in developing markets although not in the US.

Part of the problem of piracy outside of the US is lack of availability or limitations in the iTunes App Store. Credit cards and online payment methods are not ubiquitous in Eastern Europe, the Middle East or Africa. Pirating apps while not preferred by most, even if it is cheaper, is much easier for some people.

It boggles my mind that there are still idiots who come on to this site and assert that "jailbreaking" is inherently wrong and that people who do it are trying to steal something. This is manifestly ludicrous, and has been manifestly ludicrous from the start. Every argument to the effect that there is something inherently wrong with jailbreaking is more full of holes than Swiss cheese. These are simply the mindless sheep who took this position in defense of poor little ol' Apple, and who stand firm to an argument that was always as leaky as an old rusty bucket. They apparently are so determined to profess their faith and loyalty to the mighty Apple, their god, that they are not even swayed by the fact that the U.S. government declared that (incredible though it seems) it is the owner's right to decide what software runs on the device that they have bought.

The oft-quoted claim that jailbreaking voids the warranty is also bogus and is another example of people over-eager to profess their faith and loyalty to the mighty Apple, their god, regardless. Apple can claim whatever they want, and put whatever language into the warranty that they like, but it is the courts, not Apple, who decides whether or not the owner did something to damage the phone and thereby lost their rights under the warranty. If your phone stops working and Apple refuses to honor the warranty because you jailbroke your phone, they still have to prove, in court, that the failure was directly a result of your having jailbroken the phone. I reiterate, for those who are too stupid to see the logic here: JAILBREAKING DOES NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY UNLESS IT ACTUALLY DAMAGES YOUR PHONE, IN WHICH CASE THE REASON PER SE THAT THE WARRANTY IS VOIDED IS THAT YOU DAMAGED YOUR PHONE. For all those who are too stupid to figure out this much, let me give an analogy. If you connect a third-party battery charger to the phone and it supplies so much voltage and current that it fries the phone, you will have voided the warranty, because you caused the damage and because this is what any reasonable court of law will decide. But if you connect a third-party charger that does not do any damage at all, then the act, of having connected that third-party charger, does not in any way, shape or form void your warranty, because, in order to void the warranty, you have to damage the phone. DUH. What is it about this that so many people seem so incapable of understanding? All of you people who keep saying that jailbreaking the phone automatically voids the warranty are saying essentially the same as this: "if you connect a third-party charger to your phone, you void the warranty".

Regrettably, there are a lot of people who are so stupid that my having put it that way still won't make them realize the stupidity of what they say, because, regrettably, there are a lot of people so stupid that they will believe that if you connect a 3rd-party charger to your phone that this will automatically void your warranty. So let me try once more to lay this out in simple English: YOU CAN DO ANYTHING TO YOUR PHONE THAT YOU WANT AND IT WILL NOT VOID THE WARRANTY UNLESS IT DAMAGES THE PHONE. AS SUCH, IT IS LOGICALLY MANIFEST THAT THE ASSERTION, THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE WILL VOID THE WARRANTY, IS LOGICALLY EQUIVALENT TO ASSERTING THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE WILL AUTOMATICALLY DAMAGE THE PHONE, AND THIS IS UTTER B.S.

I REITERATE: WHEN YOU SAY THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE AUTOMATICALLY VOIDS THE WARRANTY, WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY SAYING IS THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE DAMAGES THE PHONE. THIS IS REALLY WHAT YOU REALLY ARE SAYING. GET IT?

Yeah maybe they expect it to make them pancakes as well. Let's take video editing with iMovie and so on with trailers, etc. It "just works"... But you gotta do some stuff on your part like move the mouse, click around and so on...

Most of the time though new users are so pummelled into submission by years of Windows most of the time they are so worried about where files are, where they are stored, where directories are, how much space it is taking, how to uninstall, anti-this that everything.

New Mac users are more concerned with how to do things "right" than learning how to do what they want to do. And understandably so. New iOS users are concerned about how to get around seeming limitations and the admittedly atrocious iTunes syncing situation (most don't have a clue what iTunes actually does).

Yeah maybe they expect it to make them pancakes as well. Let's take video editing with iMovie and so on with trailers, etc. It "just works"... But you gotta do some stuff on your part like move the mouse, click around and so on...

Most of the time though new users are so pummelled into submission by years of Windows most of the time they are so worried about where files are, where they are stored, where directories are, how much space it is taking, how to uninstall, anti-this that everything.

New Mac users are more concerned with how to do things "right" than learning how to do what they want to do. And understandably so. New iOS users are concerned about how to get around seeming limitations and the admittedly atrocious iTunes syncing situation (most don't have a clue what iTunes actually does).

i hate how whenever I see a person carrying a mac now, I ask them, "what do you like about your mac?" they can't give me one proper reason other than the look of "everyone else has it!" in their eyes. I then show them the screen share functionality of ichat to which they have no idea it even exists...
i started loving macs right before they started putting intel chips inside, knowing full well that I will also be able to install windows. but now, new mac users buy them because "everyone else has them" and is the "new tech" to own.

i hate how whenever I see a person carrying a mac now, I ask them, "what do you like about your mac?" they can't give me one proper reason other than the look of "everyone else has it!" in their eyes. I then show them the screen share functionality of ichat to which they have no idea it even exists...
i started loving macs right before they started putting intel chips inside, knowing full well that I will also be able to install windows. but now, new mac users buy them because "everyone else has them" and is the "new tech" to own.

Forget iChat the first thing new Mac users do is download MSN Messenger.

Whether you have the weather on your lock screen or not, you are still not the spokesperson for all jailbreakers.

I'll bet you only use bit torrent to test Linux distributions too.

Get off the grass, stop the denial.

I never said I was a spokesman for anyone or anything. Is that just your paranoid delusions flaring up again? Are you always this obtuse or just plain old fashion inept? You decide. Personally, I think you're just stupid. Just my opinion though.

Yes, but most of us that Jailbreak do not hack app store apps. I pay for what I use. Plain and simple. I do not want another PSP where no one wants to create apps for it. Right now my biggest reason for Jailbreaking has become my AppleTV. Only streaming my iPod videos is not what I bought my aTV 2.0 for.

You realize that if you have an iTunes library on another computer, you can share that by starting Home Sharing, and that iTunes library is completely playable? Of course, iTunes would never let you stream a whole movie that wasn't DRM'ed, would it? Oh, wait a minute, it does.

Or there's all the free podcasts.

And Netflix.

...Where no one develops for it? Jeez, have you seen? Apple has a thriving developer community. It's still growing very well.

When you figure out how to unlock a phone without a jailbreak, I'm sure some folks would like to know.

I dont believe it is possible, however the point is that the article makes it come off like it is exactly the same when it is completely possible to jailbreak and not unlock. Basically that carrier comment should have been left out since it was totally unrelated to the issue in the article

Quote:

Originally Posted by iax

Apple does not care about jailbreaking,

If Apple didn't care they wouldn't have made it a warranty void and wouldn't be creating patches to the flaws that allow it.

Apple endures it because it shows them those flaws. But otherwise, it seems rather clear that they do care very much and are quite against it

In effect yes. ATT dropped unlimited data and FaceTime will suck up their measly amounts rather quick. While the restriction might jar that small percent of super geeks, it is a good move for the thousnds that just got their first iPhone and lack the luxury of the grandfather clause.

Quote:

A third benefit, and one that you are unwilling to acknowledge, seemingly for strong emotional reasons of your own, is that jailbreaking/rooting does in fact open the doors to wide-scale piracy.

forget that. Jail breaking can open up your phone to hacking of your own info. Imagine some smart ass creating what looks like a supercool app or game that requires jailbreaking. But little do you know, that while you are enjoying it, the creator is grabbing all your contacts, your log in details for all your apps, including the one for your bank etc

Now all you super geeks are like 'we aren't dumb enough to fall for that. But some lesser geeks that are doing it as some kind of political statement are that dumb. The hackers are counting on it in fact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwj

you are not allowed to use your device on any other network besides AT&T.

Rather a moot point since current law has set up the bandwidth game so that the other carriers are not in the same ranges and thus your phone is hobbled and will only work on edge

The solution is to get the laws changed. And even the laws about what they can charge. If part of my bill is for paying back that device, why is that past still on my bill two years later when my contract period is over.[/QUOTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pika2000

I hope this means that Apple will unlock all existing iPhones once the AT&T exclusivity contract expires.

Nope. The laws don't require it. You can ask but they can totally say no. Then again by the time your contract is up, that phone will very likely be out of warranty anyway. And the same law that let's you jailbreak your own phone also let's you unlock it. So go for it.

It boggles my mind that there are still idiots who come on to this site and assert that "jailbreaking" is inherently wrong and that people who do it are trying to steal something. This is manifestly ludicrous, and has been manifestly ludicrous from the start. Every argument to the effect that there is something inherently wrong with jailbreaking is more full of holes than Swiss cheese. These are simply the mindless sheep who took this position in defense of poor little ol' Apple, and who stand firm to an argument that was always as leaky as an old rusty bucket. They apparently are so determined to profess their faith and loyalty to the mighty Apple, their god, that they are not even swayed by the fact that the U.S. government declared that (incredible though it seems) it is the owner's right to decide what software runs on the device that they have bought.

The oft-quoted claim that jailbreaking voids the warranty is also bogus and is another example of people over-eager to profess their faith and loyalty to the mighty Apple, their god, regardless. Apple can claim whatever they want, and put whatever language into the warranty that they like, but it is the courts, not Apple, who decides whether or not the owner did something to damage the phone and thereby lost their rights under the warranty. If your phone stops working and Apple refuses to honor the warranty because you jailbroke your phone, they still have to prove, in court, that the failure was directly a result of your having jailbroken the phone. I reiterate, for those who are too stupid to see the logic here: JAILBREAKING DOES NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY UNLESS IT ACTUALLY DAMAGES YOUR PHONE, IN WHICH CASE THE REASON PER SE THAT THE WARRANTY IS VOIDED IS THAT YOU DAMAGED YOUR PHONE. For all those who are too stupid to figure out this much, let me give an analogy. If you connect a third-party battery charger to the phone and it supplies so much voltage and current that it fries the phone, you will have voided the warranty, because you caused the damage and because this is what any reasonable court of law will decide. But if you connect a third-party charger that does not do any damage at all, then the act, of having connected that third-party charger, does not in any way, shape or form void your warranty, because, in order to void the warranty, you have to damage the phone. DUH. What is it about this that so many people seem so incapable of understanding? All of you people who keep saying that jailbreaking the phone automatically voids the warranty are saying essentially the same as this: "if you connect a third-party charger to your phone, you void the warranty".

Regrettably, there are a lot of people who are so stupid that my having put it that way still won't make them realize the stupidity of what they say, because, regrettably, there are a lot of people so stupid that they will believe that if you connect a 3rd-party charger to your phone that this will automatically void your warranty. So let me try once more to lay this out in simple English: YOU CAN DO ANYTHING TO YOUR PHONE THAT YOU WANT AND IT WILL NOT VOID THE WARRANTY UNLESS IT DAMAGES THE PHONE. AS SUCH, IT IS LOGICALLY MANIFEST THAT THE ASSERTION, THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE WILL VOID THE WARRANTY, IS LOGICALLY EQUIVALENT TO ASSERTING THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE WILL AUTOMATICALLY DAMAGE THE PHONE, AND THIS IS UTTER B.S.

I REITERATE: WHEN YOU SAY THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE AUTOMATICALLY VOIDS THE WARRANTY, WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY SAYING IS THAT JAILBREAKING THE PHONE DAMAGES THE PHONE. THIS IS REALLY WHAT YOU REALLY ARE SAYING. GET IT?

Consumer protection laws in the USA basically state that the manufacturer cannot deny warranty service simply because of the fact that 3rd-party replacement parts (or by extension, in this case, using 3rd party software) has been used on a device. Rather, the manufacturer must prove that the damage you're trying to get fixed under warranty was caused as a direct consequence of the use of the 3rd-party replacement part -- or as a direct consequence of malpractice carried out by the non-Apple service provider who installed that replacement part.

Apple's warranty agreement is written in the form of a contract that says Apple will refuse to provide warranty coverage of any product which has been modified to have different functionality, if those modifications were made without Apple's permission. The agreement doesn't say anything about whether or not those unauthorized modifications caused damage; it says that the simple fact that the modifications were performed in the first place constituted a violation of the agreement, even in the absence of any actual damage.

Their argument, I suppose, is that jailbreaking inherently involves modifies that iPhone's functionality without Apple's concent, and therefore the simple act of modifying the iPhone's functionality means that you have violated the warranty contract. After the customer violated that contract, Apple's position is that Apple has been contractually released from any and all obligations that they would have otherwise had under the warranty.

Now, it's quite possible that Apple's position on violating the contract being sufficient grounds to terminate the warranty, actually runs afoul of US consumer protection laws.

1) If that's the case, then Apple is simply wrong, full stop. Jailbreaking doesn't violate the warranty, and you can demand to continue to receive warranty service. Apple can only refuse, if they can prove that the jailbreak itself caused damage to the iPhone.

2) On the other hand, if that's not the case, then as soon as you jailbroke your iPhone, you ceased to have a warranty with Apple, and Apple has every right to refuse to provide warranty service if it ever does become damaged.
2a) In theoretical terms, it doesn't matter at all whether or not you restore the iPhone firmware back to stock or not, because the act of jailbreaking itself was the thing that killed the warranty, and the fact that you reversed the process doesn't change the historical fact that, once upon a time, you initially took steps to violate the contract in the first place.
2b) However, in practical terms, after restoring your iPhone back to stock firmware, Apple would likely have a difficult time proving that the act ever happened, so they would have difficulty proving that the contract was violated, and therefore they would have difficulty proving the fact that the warranty no longer exists.

sorry... but i jailbreak my iphone to get apps above 5 dollars for free... especially those that costs 29.99 and above.

Then, unfortunately, you have broken the law.

Your intentions might have been noble -- for example, choosing to pay for any paid apps you really really liked, after your personal evaluation is over. However, the wording of the DMCA exemption that permits jailbreaking, specifically says that any 3rd-party software you install using the jailbreak must have been lawfully obtained.

As soon as you used the jailbreak to install any 3rd-party software that wasn't obtained lawfully, you violated the DMCA.

Separately, each of 3rd-party apps you obtained without the author's permission, also constituted separate violations of the various authors' respective copyrights.

I personally have no problem with people who jailbreak, and then limit themselves to original Apps that are being deliberately distributed through jailbroken mechanisms with the full consent of the Apps' authors.

In fact, I'll take it a step further: If you still have a 1st generation iPod touch or a 1st generation iPhone, then I actually strongly encourage it, because there are some pretty severe remote code execution bugs in iOS 3 for those devices (which Apple is never going to patch now that iOS4 is mainstream). They can only be fixed using patches that are distributed by fellow jailbreakers.